Panamane

Key takeaways

Panamane belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Panamane to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Panamane from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Panamane [panaˈman] is a constructed language created by the Panamanian Manuel E. Amador in 1922 and compiled in a book titled Fundaments of Panamane: Universal Language in 1936.

History During the 1900s, Manuel E. Amador, son of the first president of Panama, Manuel Amador Guerrero, moved to New York to serve as Panama's consul in the city. Later, during the 1910s, he developed an interest in music and linguistics, alongside his existing artistic pursuits. During this time, he learned the international language Esperanto and became an Esperantist, though he later abandoned the movement in 1922 after attending a meeting of the Esperanto club in Greenwich Village, New York, where he questioned the lack of success of Esperanto. Upon returning home, Amador read "The Gettysburg Address" by Abraham Lincoln multiple times and, deeply moved, he wrote a translation in what he called the "language of languages." This text became the prototype of his own constructed language, which he named "Panamane" in honor of his country. After six years of development, he completed two manuscripts outlining his language, one in English and the other in Spanish. However, the actual publication of the language did not materialize until 1936, thanks to the efforts of Amador and his wife. Despite Amador's efforts, Panamane did not gain much prominence during the first thirty years after its publication, remaining overshadowed by its predecessors and successors, including Esperanto. In his work on the subject, Paulo Rónai points out that more than a planned language, Panamane represents an "endless quest"; a utopia that aspires not only to be an auxiliary language, but a genuine universal language that surpasses and supplants all previous ones. Rodrigo Miró, on the other hand, adds that the project reflects Amador's "unbalanced yet amiable intimacy," showcasing not only his skill as a linguist but also as an artist.

Language description

Phonology Panamane has 22 consonants and 6 vowels. The vowels maintain their full sound and do not become semivowels. The letter "y" before a vowel allows the semivocal sound [j], forming diphthongs in the process. In Panamane, most words are stressed on the second-to-last syllable (paroxytone). However, there are exceptions when the letter "h" is used as a suffix to mark the stress on a different syllable, making it either oxytone or proparoxytone. Additionally, the presence of the digraphs "ff" and "ss" at the end of a word indicates the acute accent. Furthermore, certain suffixes like the adverbial suffix "-aam" are not counted as part of the syllables when determining the stress placement. Instead, it allows the word to carry both primary and secondary stress. The consonantal phonemes of Panamane are as follows:

Regarding the vowels, the following phonemes are found in Panamane:

Alphabet Panamane has 26 letters: a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, q, r, s, t, u, v, w, x, y, z. However, only 23 of these letters are used, excluding the letters c, q, and v. The pronunciation of /e/ varies as follows:

a) It is silent at the end of a word when preceded by a consonant (except "y"): panamane, othore b) It is pronounced as [e] at the end of a word when preceded by a vowel: paskae, soe c) In all other cases, it is pronounced as [e]: befrénder, efuso The pronunciation of /h/ varies as follows:

a) It is silent at the beginning of some words of Romance origin: hombel, hugos b) When it appears in the antepenultimate syllable of a word, preceded by a vowel and followed by a consonant, it remains silent and marks the accent proparoxytone: dihjiti, Amehrika c) In all other cases, it is pronounced as [h]: hoindy, hund The pronunciation of /y/ varies as follows:

a) It is pronounced as [eː] at the end of a word: dinaunsy, Edimburgensy b) In all other cases, it is pronounced as [j]: ayotimene, esya

Digraphs In Panamane, the following digraphs are used:

/ch/: Represents the sound [tʃ], except in certain words of Greek origin where it is pronounced as [k]. /eu/: Pronounced as [ø]. /jn/: Pronounced as [ɲ]. /ll/ at the end of a word: Pronounced as [ɫ]. /ph/: Pronounced as [f]. /sh/: Pronounced as [ʃ]. /th/: Pronounced as [θ]. Additionally, when /ye/ appears in the last syllable of a word, either as itself or forming /ye/, its hypothetical pronunciation [je] is simplified to [eː]: barbárye, barbáryen. Furthermore, duplicate letters in a word, unless they form digraphs in context, have specific functions:

Consonants: Double consonants like /mm/ correspond to [m.m], representing a double sound. Vowels: Double vowels like /aa/, /ee/, and /uu/ correspond to [a:], [e:], and [u:], respectively, indicating a long vowel sound.

Syntax Panamane draws heavily from English, providing the essential structure and many of its idiosyncrasies. Examples include the two forms of forming comparatives and superlatives, the parallel use of you and thou, idioms like Oh mother of mine! (which becomes Oh máder da máin!), and the use of the negation verb with the apostrophe, transforming the phrase I shouldn’t have into I súdo’n aber. In the pursuit of flexibility, elegance, and character, certain decisions were made to enrich the language. For instance, in addition to the two possessive forms present in English (the work of my father and my father's work), Panamane also adopted the German genitive, allowing for three different ways to say the phrase without any change in meaning:

le óppu da mái pader mái páderes óppu le óppu máines páderes Similarly, Panamane closely mirrors the highly compound tenses of the English conjugation system. For example:

English: I oughtn't have been teaching Panamane: I ótto'n ab séro teshéndo. Additionally, the adverb there with its two meanings, indeterminate and determinate, is faithfully replicated:

English: There are many birds there. Panamane: Der sont multi sossy dáe. Following English biases, derivations in Panamane also resemble English patterns:

English: A whitehaired lady Panamane: Un biankuhaárud damy English: A wagonful of garbage Panamane: Un vagone-funda da garbo From the Romance languages, Amador borrowed the "false reflexive" (as in constructions like yo me voy), the absolute superlative ending in -ísimo, and the "paradoxical superlative." Additionally, from French, the redundant negative adverb pas was incorporated into Panamane.

References

Manuel E. Amador. Fundamentos del panamane: lengua universal. Pueblo Nuevo, Panamá, Imprenta Barcelona, 1936. 435 páginas.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Panamane

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Panamane claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Panamane before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Panamane ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Panamane

In research: Panamane appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Panamane in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Panamane is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1922 introductions, Constructed languages, Constructed languages introduced in the 1920s, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Panamane outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

How to study Panamane in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Panamane means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Panamane out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Panamane in simple terms?

Panamane [panaˈman] is a constructed language created by the Panamanian Manuel E. Amador in 1922 and compiled in a book titled Fundaments of Panamane: Universal Language in 1936.

Why does Panamane matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Panamane?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Panamane.